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Overview

There is so much detail to be captured in a face. Cicero (106-43 BC) said: "The face is a picture of the mind as the eyes are its interpreter." To capture a person's personality, there are many things to keep in mind, and the authors of FACES show us how to match up a personality with lighting, posing, and composition. Portraiture is truly an art, and this book dives deep into the details so that you end up with a gorgeous portrait that both you and your subject love.

Not only is this book the most comprehensive title available on portraiture, but it contains stunning images. Each image is paired with a lighting diagram, a description of why the type of image was chosen, and then takes you through postproduction to put the finishing touches on. The authors also showcase a gallery of portraits by renowned photographers.

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Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Mastering portrait photography requires a lot of skill and time. Trial and error will get you there at some point. However it is always better to get on the right path at the start. The book Faces is a great resource to get started or to find new ideas. Not only it covers numerous fundamental and alternative lighting scenarios but also explains the psychology of interacting with your subject or a model."—Learnmyshot

Related Subjects

Meet the Author

Steven Biver, Virginia, USA, Commercial photographer, former clients include Adobe, Mobil, Newsweek, Black and Decker
Paul Fuqua, Virginia, USA, started his own audiovisual production company in 1970. Dedicated to teaching through visuals, he has written and produced educational and training material in a variety of fields, including law, science, and nature. His photography takes him all over the world, but he makes his home in Arlington, VA.

First Chapter

FACES

Focal Press

Chapter One

PORTRAITS FROM THE PAST

photography, as we all know, is not real at all. It is an illusion of reality with which we create our own private world.

—Arnold Newman

INTRODUCTION

This section presents a collection of portraits from the past. They are a very mixed, diverse bunch. Some of these images come from the 1840s—the earliest days of photography. Others were shot as recently as the 1970s.

Acknowledged masters made some of these portraits. Others are the work of obscure photographers whose names are now lost to us forever. Some show persons familiar to us all. Others present the likenesses of those whose identities and accomplishments are long forgotten. Some are amusing; others speak to us of horror and tragedy.

But as mixed a group as this is, despite the variety of the group, the images in it share much in common. Looked at individually, each of these pictures shows us how different photographers— working at different times, with the different techniques and technologies available to them—have gone about the business of recording the likenesses of their fellow humans. Taken as a group, these portraits provide an overview of a particular slice of the human experience.

Bull ChiefEdward S. Curtis (1868-1952)

This portrait of the Apsaroke or Northern Crow—Indian warrior, Bull Chief, was taken by Curtis as part of his effort to record "... the old time Indians, his dress, his ceremonies, his life and manners."

(Courtesy of the National Archives, Washington, D.C.)

Portrait of Miss KZaida Ben-Yusuf (1869-1933)

The nineteenth-century gum bichromate process produced extremely delicate and diffuse images. Some, such as this masterful "fine arts" half-length picture of the actress Florence Kahn, look almost as though they had been rendered in paint or pencil. This portrait was made in 1900 by the then widely popular Ben-Yusuf in her fashionable New York City studio.

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

John D. Crimmins Standing in Front ff FishPhotographer Unknown

By 1912, when this photograph is thought to have been made, inexpensive and easy-to-use cameras were common enough that informal "snapshot" portraits—such as this fine example of a proud fisherman and his catch—began to be part of many family's albums.

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

Chicano Teenager in El Paso's second ward. A classic barrio which is slowly giving way to urban renewal.Danny Lyon (1942-)

The worlds of portraiture and photojournalism can, and often do, collide. That is the case with this arresting picture shot in 1972 by the hard-hitting photographer, film maker, journalist, and author Danny Lyon.

But the truth is that it is of absolutely no importance into which stylistic "bin" we choose to toss an image such as this one. The fact remains that no matter how we choose or choose not to "classify" it, it is still a revealing and beautifully executed image of a young man in a world that is changing around him.

(Courtesy of the National Archives, Still Pictures Division, Washington, D.C.)

Abraham LincolnAlexander Gardner (1821-1882)

Made in February of 1865, this haunting image is thought to be the last photograph taken of Lincoln before his assassination. Sometimes referred to as Lincoln's "cracked-glass portrait," it is one of the most famous American portraits.

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

This somewhat suspect portrait of a purported cannibal named Tom was made around 1905. It is a classic example of the thousands of different "exotic people in far away places" pictures sold by such mass-market publishers as Underwood & Underwood. Stereographic cards such as this one, which produce a three-dimensional look when seen through a special viewer, were particularly popular during the early 1900s.

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

This print was made from a broken glass plate (wet collodion) negative. It shows Grant at his headquarters at Cold Harbor, Virginia, in June 1864.

The battle of Cold Harbor was a terrible Union defeat during which Grant's army suffered an estimated 12,000 casualties. In his memoirs, Grant was to write that Cold Harbor was the only attack he wished he had never ordered.

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

Martin Luther King Press ConferenceMarion S. Trikosko

The distinguished photojournalist Marion Trikosko took this portrait of Dr. King. It demonstrates beautifully what a waste of time it is to worry about defining the term "portrait" too rigorously.

Some viewers may see this image as an example of photojournalism, or a "news picture"; others as a "portrait." But what difference does it make? The truth is that it is a fine example of both.

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

The Monti FamilyPhotographer unknown

By the 1920s, no middle-class family was satisfied unless they could display a formal family portrait. This was a picture that not only said who you were but also proclaimed proudly what you were—a portrait that by its very existence made it clear you had "arrived."

As is the case with this fine example taken in 1924 in Luxembourg, many of these "status" portraits were beautifully executed and remain as impressive today as they were when taken.

(Authors' collections)

Wu Ting-Fang, Chinese MinisterFrances Benjamin Johnston (1864-1952)

Frances Benjamin Johnston, one of America's earliest female photographers, made this portrait around 1900. Its subject, Wu Ting-Fang, China's highly respected minister to the United States, was noted as a sophisticated and worldly diplomat. These are the qualities that Johnston's carefully posed and propped portrait so perfectly reflects.

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

Portraiture became an important law enforcement tool in photography's early days. This mug shot, or criminal identification photo, shows the notorious female outlaw Laura Bullion.

Described by one lawman as "cool" and showing "absolutely no fear," Bullion was a member of Butch Cassidy's famed Wild Bunch gang of bank and train robbers.

(Courtesy of the National Archives, Still Pictures Division, Washington, D.C.)

Charles DalmorèsMatzene Studio, Chicago; Photographer unknown

Made around 1916, this urbane and stylish portrait is of Charles Dalmorès, a famous international opera star. Produced in the fashionable Chicago studio of "Count" Jens Matzene, it is a fine example of the carefully posed—with few or any props or scenery—and dramatically lit image that would evolve into what later came to be known as the "Hollywood look."

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

King Farouk of Egypt and his FamilyPhotographer unknown

King Farouk ruled Egypt from 1936 until he was overthrown by a revolution in 1952. This graceful and surprisingly informal portrait shows Farouk with his wife and young son.

It is a fine example of a "person in power" portrait. Such images strive to show both the sitter's human side and his or her authority. Rulers have often used such portraits to help win and maintain their subjects' loyalty.

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

Urias A. McgillAugustus Washington (1820-1875)

New Jersey-born Augustus Washington was one of America's first African-American photographers. In 1853, he immigrated to Liberia. It was there that he made this daguerreotype of Urias McGill, a successful merchant and exporter.

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

Dressed in their finest clothes with their gold watch chains dangling from their vests for all to see, these two brothers were immortalized in this classically posed and propped carte de visite, or picture calling card, taken around the turn of the twentieth century.

Notice the richly painted baroque background, which was designed to convey a sense of "means"; this scene is typical of the era. So is the ornate pylon against which the brothers lean. Usually sold by the dozen, carte de visites were commonly exchanged among friends and family members.

Ansel Adams was one of America's greatest photographers. In 1943, he photographed the War Relocation Center at Manzanar, California, and the Japanese-Americans forced to live there during World War II. Shot against a background of cornfield and desert, this disturbing portrait is a stark reminder of the terrible injustice that Manzanar and the other camps like it represent.

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

Post-Mortem portrait of an unknown babyPhotographer unknown

The dead, especially children, were common subjects for early photographers. This gut-wrenching portrait was probably made in a small Wisconsin farm community in the 1890s.

Obviously great care was taken to make the picture as comforting as possible for its viewers—to make it appear that the baby was sleeping quietly rather than the awful truth so faithfully recorded. One can only hope that this sad memento provided some small measure of the consolation it was meant to.

(Allness family photographs, authors' collections)

Henry FordHartsook Studio; Fred Hartsook (1876-1930)

This beautifully executed formal portrait of the American industrialist and founder of the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford, was taken around 1919. Fred Hartsook, the probable photographer, owned several fashionable California portrait studios. He is often credited with helping to establish what later came to be known as the "Hollywood" look.

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

American GothicGordon Parks (1912-2006)

Made by Gordon Parks in 1942 of a charwoman named Ella Watson, this riveting picture ranks among the twentieth century's most powerful portraits. It is well worth taking the time to compare it to Grant Wood's justly famous 1930 painting of the same name.

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

Coronet Wilkin, 11th HussarsRodger Fenton (1819-1869)

This portrait of a British cavalry officer is one of the first pictures made as part of a systematic effort to use photography to document, and—some say to propagandize—a war. Produced using the collodion, or wet plate, process, it was shot by the British artist-turned-photographer Rodger Fenton during the Crimean War (1853-1856).

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

Spinners in a Cotton MillLewis Wickes Hine (1874-1940)

Dedicated to social reform, Hine pictured these two young girls working as spinners in a cotton mill in 1911 while documenting child labor abuse for the National Child Labor Committee. Hine's portraits of young children working under often terrible conditions provided a much-needed boost to efforts aimed at passing effective child labor laws in America.

(Courtesy of the National Archives, Still Pictures Division, Washington, D.C.)

On the FreightsRondal Partridge (1917-)

In 1940, Europe was torn by war, a war that Rondal Partridge firmly believed America would soon join. But before that happened, and while he was working for the National Youth Administration, Partridge set out to document the conditions and challenges that America's youth faced at the tail end of the Great Depression.

He shot this disturbing but beautifully executed portrait along the railroad tracks in Yuba County, California. It shows a young drifter who had spent much of his young life "on the freights" traveling from place to place looking for work.

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

Jack Guth and his SteerPhotographer unknown

Since their earliest days, we have used photographs as mementos of both ourselves and of our most prized possessions. Taken in 1920, this wonderful "environmental" portrait proudly records for posterity a Montana cattleman and his truly monumental steer.

Like countless thousands of soldiers, Pvt. Kimbrue sat for this tintype portrait in all his warrior finery sometime during the American Civil War.

Tintypes were popular among Civil War soldiers and their families because they were inexpensive, made quickly, and durable enough to be mailed home in letters. These qualities made them the ideal mementos for loved ones to share.

(Courtesy of the Library of congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.)

Starving inmate of Camp Gusen, AustriaT4c. Sam Gilbert

Taken in 1945 by an Army photographer immediately after U.S. troops liberated the notoriously brutal Gusen concentration camp, this mind-numbing portrait lives on as an icon for Nazi terror and atrocities.

Like all great portraits, the message so starkly proclaimed by this one is both timeless and universal.

(Courtesy of the National Archives, Still Pictures Division, Washington, D.C.)

Baby in best clothesPhotographer unknown

Since the first cameras arrived on the scene, children have been among portraitists' favorite subjects. Dressed in Baptism finery, this cherubic tyke was photographed using the tintype process by an unknown photographer sometime during the 1890s.

(Authors' collections)

A Pioneer Family By Their WagonPhotographer unknown

Cameras followed the wagons during the Great Western Migration. This group portrait of a pioneer family standing by the covered wagon in which they lived and traveled during their search for a homestead is typical of the pictures made by photographers whose names are long lost to us.

This particular image was made in 1886 in the Loup Valley of Nebraska.

(Courtesy of the National Archives, Still Pictures Division, Washington, D.C.)

Guitar PlayerPhotographer unknown

Little is known about this wonderful "a man and his music" portrait. It was probably taken by an itinerant photographer in the 1890s and shows a young man belonging to a Norwegian-American farm family living in Wisconsin.

(Allness family photographs, authors' collections)

Couple on an OutingPhotographer unknown

The availability of good-quality, but relatively inexpensive, color film changed photography forever. For the first time in history, color photographs of friends and family were within the reach of a huge and ever-growing segment of the world's population.

This informal portrait from the 1950s of a stylishly dressed couple on an outing is typical of the hundreds of millions of similar color "people-pictures" produced since color film first became widely available.

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